1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a pair of connectors connectable with each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 7,311,546 discloses male and female connectors that are connectable with each other. The male connector has a receptacle that opens forward, and male terminals project into the receptacle.
The female connector has a female housing that can fit into the receptacle. Female terminals are mounted in the female housing and connect with the male terminals when the female housing is fit into the receptacle. A tube surrounds the outer peripheral surface of the female housing and can fit on the receptacle of the male connector. The tube is formed with a lock arm that can be engaged with a lock of the male connector to lock the two connectors in a properly connected state.
A retaining cap is mounted on the front of the female housing, and first shake preventing portions project from the outer peripheral surface of the retaining cap. Further, second shake preventing portions are provided at the back end of the inner peripheral surface of the tube.
The first shake preventing portions closely contact the inner peripheral surface of the receptacle and the second shake preventing portions closely contact the outer peripheral surface of the receptacle when the connectors reach the properly connected state to prevent shaking of the two connectors. The prevention of shaking of the connectors before and after contact parts of the male and female terminals is intended to prevent the terminals from abrading against each other. Such abrasion could cause gold plating to be peeled off the contact parts and could increase electrical resistance or cause other damage to the terminals.
The above-described construction cannot provide shake prevention on the cut part of the tube where the lock arm is provided. Thus, the second shake preventing portions necessarily are arranged in a nonuniform manner, thereby limiting efforts to improve shake prevention between the connectors.
The invention was developed in view of the above situation and an object thereof is to provide a connector device capable of improving a function of restricting shaking between connectors.